Comprehensive approach to treatment of tinnitus in patients of older age group

To date, the problem of treating elderly patients with subjective tinnitus is gaining momentum, and there is no single universal approach to its solution. A personalized approach to the patient, including an assessment of the state of tone of the autonomic nervous system, can help identify and correct sympathicotonia in patients as one of the causes of tinnitus. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of auricular percutaneous electrical stimulation of the vagus nerve for the treatment of tinnitus in patients of older age groups with sympathicotonia. The study involved 55 people (aged 60 to 85 years), of which 25 patients underwent physiotherapy in combination with drug therapy (main group), and 30 patients, exclusively drug treatment (control group). The assessment of the strength of subjective ear noise, the tone of the autonomic nervous system, the results of the THI (Tinnitus Handicap Inventory) questionnaire, the qualitative characteristics of hearing according to the Russian version of the ESIT-SQ (European School for Interdisciplinary Tinnitus Research Screening Questionnaire) in the study groups showed that patients of the main group were 60% more likely to have a positive effect of treatment according to the studied indicators.